Bristol Onion

Botanic Garden

The Bristol Onion or Round Headed Leek, Allium sphaerocephalon, has a wide distribution from central to southern Europe through to the Iberian Peninsular. However, its only mainland British locality is the Avon Gorge in Bristol, where it thrives on sunny rock ledges in the warm microclimate. However it faces the threat of being squeezed out by a thuggish cousin, the rosey garlic, Allium roseum, whose deliberate introduction in the nineteenth century allowed it to spread into the rocky ledges of the Gorge. Plants of the Bristol Onion can be seen as part of the Rare and Threatened Native Plant Display at the Botanic Garden.

Photographer: Nicholas Wray

Copyright: University of Bristol

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